


Armistice

by Ariasune



Series: Axis [2]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Character Study, Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-03
Updated: 2016-06-03
Packaged: 2018-07-12 00:09:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7076365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariasune/pseuds/Ariasune
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I could live with you in peace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Armistice

**Author's Note:**

> Artwork credited to ECHO [[twitter](https://twitter.com/rkgk_ngch)] [[tumblr](http://nagecho.tumblr.com/)] [[storenvy](http://nagecho.storenvy.com/)] [[pixiv](https://www.pixiv.net/member.php?id=6689865)]

He stepped into the light as it gave way to water. The river was cool around his ankles, sunbright on every side, and as Atem moved through the shallows, it pulled at the trail of his cloak like a hand. From the other side, there was the soft sound of familiar voices, and behind him, the soothing seethe of the river turning.

Light. He felt light. Light without the heavy gleam of the Puzzle at his neck, his past no longer a darkness, dug like a chasm in his gut.

Truthfully, he missed his friends. He regretted dying so young. He wished he and Kaiba could have duelled one more time. He adored his partner with the weight of his entire soul. He would have liked to have done so much more. There was so much more he could have done--

He stopped.

The Thief King was sitting in the shallow water, curled into a tight ball, snarling disjointedly with his face pressed into the hollow of his body. He didn't look up at Atem - and for everything Atem felt, the calculated weight of his regrets and affections combined, he felt light. At peace. Proud for it. Head held high as he walked into the light, and into the water, and here Bakura was, sulking in the shallows.

He could have walked onwards, but instead, a heavy sigh settling in his chest, Atem called out to Bakura: "You should come with me."

Bakura's head raised, dusky eyes catching in the light as he took Atem in. Surprise, then suspicion crossed his face, and harsh as a kicking horse, Bakura demanded, "What?"

Patient, Atem elaborated, "I'm going across the river. You should come with me."

"Why the fuck would I go anywhere with you?" Atem shrugged at Bakura's question. Half-tempted to leave Bakura to his own devices, he turned his head towards the far-side of the river. That seemed to do the trick, and Bakura staggered to his feet with a clumsy splash of water. "You can't go across the river," he snapped.

Smirking, Atem turned back towards Bakura. "And why not?"

"You can't _go_ ," Bakura insisted, voice pitching with desperation and anger. He gestured at himself wildly, hand clutching at his heart, "What will I _do_?"

"Hopefully? Cross the river."

"Fuck off."

Gods remind him why he was trying in the first place. Atem sighed again, tugging his cloak out of the river and wringing it thoughtfully. He heard Bakura move in his direction, water pulling noisily in warning, and Atem took a step away. "I'm not fighting you," he told Bakura, looking up to meet his scalding sunrise glare.

"You should come back with me," Bakura threw his arm out, pointing in the wrong direction. "We can go back. We can still finish this."

"We're dead," Atem tied his cloak off, keeping it out of the water. "It's done."

Stamping his foot down with a furious flush of water, Bakura's teeth flashed at Atem. "I'm not done-- We're not done!"

"I'm done."

"You don't get to decide that," Bakura hissed at him, anger sharpening his stance into something angular, wolfish, ready to spring for Atem's throat.

Ignoring the sheer stain of violence in Bakura's body, Atem took a step towards him. "No, I suppose I don't." Faltering, Bakura leaned away from Atem, warily watching Atem take another step. "How long is it going to take, Bakura?"

Atem was too close, and Bakura gave a slippery snarl, stamping back in the water like a startled animal, "If you come any closer, I'll kill you. I swear I'll kill you."

"A long time then," Atem sighed, reaching the middle of the river. Pausing, Atem pulled a face, before sitting down in the water, shuddering as it soaked into his clothes. "Bakura, I am _already_ dead. More to the point, so are you," he gestured at the place next to him, and Bakura stared at him with mingled disbelief, and fury. Studying Bakura's face, Atem huffed, and leant back in the water, "Fine. You look like an idiot though."

"I hate you."

"I'm  _aware_."

They stared at each other, Atem's gaze lidded with boredom, and Bakura's torn open with rage. It was like watching an ocean boil; agitated and incapable of staying still. Tension burning under his skin, Bakura scoffed, marching towards Atem. Folding his arms over his chest, teeth baring, Bakura gave a disdainful sneer, "What are you doing?"

Atem tilted his head, expression strategically neutral, "Waiting for you. Obviously."

"Go to hell," Bakura spat.

"Then we'll be going the same way," Atem concluded with a snort. Before gesturing for Bakura to sit down again, "I'm not going back; our time is over-"

The snarl turned malignant, "This isn't over!"

"I  _know_." Frustrated, Atem glowered at Bakura, patience giving out like a bone snapping. "You wanted to kill me, well I'm dead. Congratulations, was it everything you hoped it would be?" Fussing a hand through his bangs, adjusting the heavy set of his crown, Atem continued to watch Bakura with a blunted expression. "Maybe you're not done, but there is  _nothing_ more either of us can do. _Except_  waitfor you to figure that out." Grimacing, Atem pointed at the spot across from him, "If that takes another three thousand years, then it takes another three thousand years, Bakura, but in the meantime,  _sit down_."

Bakura didn't. He stood there, staring Atem down, and it was so inevitable, so predictable, that Atem gave an amused huff.

"Fine," he conceded, "You look like an idiot though."

Atem stretched out, water lapping as he got comfortable, and for his part, Bakura merely stood there, watching Atem with a fierce, unceasing look of fire. There was a threat in his eyes, but Atem shrugged, and cocked an eyebrow at Bakura. If Bakura went for the throat, he was too late to grab it. 

Instead, smirking, Atem spoke up: "We're going to be here awhile, right?" A beat, thin as a pulse. "Know any games?"


End file.
